Massive screen burn-in on Priv?

So, I had to search all over town to actually find a PRIV to look at and finally found one at my local AT&T (Verizon customer). I love it! Coming from an iPhone I may not have all the BB OS withdrawals I have read about here, but ...

I have one huge concern. The sample I saw ... the phone (hardware) itself was PRISTINE but the screen appeared to have MASSIVE burn in. Text along the top ... about 3 lines ... and the PRIV logo in the bottom left. Is this common? Has anybody seen this on a phone that is not a store sample?

Amoled displays can suffer from Burn In. However, they're not as prone to it as old CRT monitors or Plasma displays.

As long as you don't have the screen on all the time (ie.. While it's charging), you shouldn't have any issues. I've had nothing but AMOLED displays for the last 6 or 7 years and never suffered burn in, never having to consciously take steps to avoid it.

I'm willing to bet that the display model you saw was probably set to full brightness, and the display setting to automatically shut off during inactivity was probably toggled off. Probably sitting for days at a time without the display shutting down.

Amoled displays can suffer from Burn In. However, they're not as prone to it as old CRT monitors or Plasma displays.

As long as you don't have the screen on all the time (ie.. While it's charging), you shouldn't have any issues. I've had nothing but AMOLED displays for the last 6 or 7 years and never suffered burn in, never having to consciously take steps to avoid it.

I'm willing to bet that the display model you saw was probably set to full brightness, and the display setting to automatically shut off during inactivity was probably toggled off. Probably sitting for days at a time without the display shutting down.

Plasma televisions are actually not very susceptible to burn in (image retention) anymore, they have a few techniques to avoid this such as "orbiter" or more commonly known as pixel shift.

Originally Posted by Pallet Spoon

Thanks. I also thought the phone had been on 24/7 but the amount of ghosting was so bad I would either have to repair or replace the device if it were mine.

Even under regular use, you can still notice image retention on AMOLED. Where you have static icons like the notification bar will show up as burn in more easily, while areas that are usually kept black, such as the bottom navigation bar, will wear out less and appear brighter when displaying whites or cooler colours.

Originally Posted by mad_mdx

That device probably never had the screen off. Plus the burn in would probably go away. Newer amoled don't really have this problem

All AMOLED panels still are susceptible to burn in, if you visit your carrier store, you can see extreme examples. Also people who use their devices for dedicated GPS units, you can find even the Galaxy S6 having burn in, Galaxy S7 hasn't been out long enough for it to be as noticeable but definitely give it a few months and you will notice this as well. It's just a result of how AMOLED displays work, it's an inherent "quality" or flaw of these panels.

Oh yeah, I have seen a S6 Edge in a carrier store with terrible burn-in on its screen. The rep in the store saying this is normal if the screen is kept on for long time.

I also read that one of the reason Samsung is not a fun of on screen buttons, is because those on screen buttons turn to cause more burn-in problems because they are white and always at the same location.

Even under regular use, you can still notice image retention on AMOLED. Where you have static icons like the notification bar will show up as burn in more easily, It's just a result of how AMOLED displays work, it's an inherent "quality" or flaw of these panels.

Originally Posted by aha

Oh yeah, I have seen a S6 Edge in a carrier store with terrible burn-in on its screen. The rep in the store saying this is normal if the screen is kept on for long time.

I also read that one of the reason Samsung is not a fan of on screen buttons, is because those on screen buttons turn to cause more burn-in problems because they are white and always at the same location.

PassportSQW100-1/10.3.2.2339

So, the Back, Home and Recent buttons on the Priv and the five icons, Phone, XX, App Tray, Hub and Camera icons along the bottom row might start showing burn-in? Four of the five can be removed or moved but the App Tray is fixed. Also, as mentioned, the various notification icons while changing as well as the more static elements (bt, wifi, battery, etc) or the row that they are in might suffer screen burn??? Maybe a good reason the edge Green Battery bar does not seem as persistent as it is suppose to be!

So, the Back, Home and Recent buttons on the Priv and the five icons, Phone, XX, App Tray, Hub and Camera icons along the bottom row might start showing burn-in? Four of the five can be removed or moved but the App Tray is fixed. Also, as mentioned, the various notification icons while changing as well as the more static elements (bt, wifi, battery, etc) or the row that they are in might suffer screen burn??? Maybe a good reason the edge Green Battery bar does not seem as persistent as it is suppose to be!

The Back, Home, and Recent apps button can burn in, but the black bar will not. This is because when the colour is black, those pixels are actually turned off! It actually prolongs their life. The problem with this though is that you get the screen wearing out unevenly. The bottom black bar will essentially be "fresh" while the rest of the screen will be worn out. The notification bar with it's icons like signal strength and battery icon etc. will wear out faster since these are always present on the screen.

Another thing to watch out for is that blue pixels tend to wear out faster than the other colours too. So after a few years of pretty constant use, put that Priv next to a new one from a sealed box and you will start to notice the colours on the Priv that was used for a couple of years will not be showing all of the colours as compared with the new Priv.

You're not going to notice that actually. Never have I seen someone say their screen became less blue over time. I have some amoled screen phones a few years old. I don't notice anything different. Does that mean I should go compare some new in box 3 year old phones to see the difference? Nope

I'm pretty sure if used in normal situations none of us will experience major burn-in. A display model that has sat for a few months, but I think you have to have the same static screen on for an extended period of time to experience anything obtrusive. When the typical user has the screen on they're doing things with the phone not just staring at the home screen.. Or are we?!

This is definitely a concern I have, especially when leaving the phone on charge overnight with the charging animation bar thing along the side of the screen. One of my friends who has owned a Priv for a while says he has no problems though!

I've had the Priv since Jan 2015 and the only image burn-in I've gotten is a very mild shadow of the back/home/tasks buttons only visible on white backgrounds and barely visible at that. Granted my display is at full brightness and running 8-12 hrs per day 5-7 days per week being an UBER driver. With normal use I'm sure you'd need not be concerned with this happening to your device. Phone is AMAZING!!! Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by Pallet Spoon

So, I had to search all over town to actually find a PRIV to look at and finally found one at my local AT&T (Verizon customer). I love it! Coming from an iPhone I may not have all the BB OS withdrawals I have read about here, but ...

I have one huge concern. The sample I saw ... the phone (hardware) itself was PRISTINE but the screen appeared to have MASSIVE burn in. Text along the top ... about 3 lines ... and the PRIV logo in the bottom left. Is this common? Has anybody seen this on a phone that is not a store sample?